Oversized Load To Creep Along On Hwy. 87, 188 Next Week

What weighs 285 tons, moves uphill at 15 mph and takes eight days to travel from Hoover Dam to the mining town of Miami, east of Phoenix? It’s a huge anode used in the electrical process for refining copper.

The largest oversized load to cross the new Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge has entered Arizona from Nevada on a 380-mile journey that’s expected to create significant travel delays for some drivers who wind up traveling behind it.

A Phoenix-based hauling company, Precision Heavy Haul, is carrying the anode on a specially-designed truck and trailer rig stretching 225 feet long. The oversized load started its trip from Salt Lake City on Aug. 2.

Its destination is the the Freeport-McMoRan mine in Miami — about 80 miles east of downtown Phoenix.

Motorists should expect delays in the vicinity of the oversized load, which will take up to two lanes, and will be escorted by Department of Public Safety officers and pilot cars. There will be no traffic impacts for weekend travelers.